Alesis QS6.1

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Alesis QS6.1

The QS6.1 is a 64 Voice Expandable Synthesizer and is a much more improved version of the QS6 QuadraSynth. With double the sound memory, the QS6.1 has 16MB of digital ROM samples, double the expansion capabilities, double the real-time control sliders, and a much improved and larger LCD display screen. The QS6.1 has a vast set of sounds containing a library of 640 programs and 500 multitimbral mixes. Really amazing pianos, orchestral sounds as well as vintage synth sounds, strings, brass, winds, guitars, drums, percussion loops and groove patterns can all be found here.

The QS6.1 features 64 multitimbral parts over 16 MIDI channels. That's a lot. And since it's 64 voices polyphonic, you can arrange some pretty complex and complete music, from full orchestras to trance dance tracks, beats and sfx heaven! The keyboard can be split into 16-zones! Control the volume, panning, transposition, effects level and more of each channel independently. Four on-board edit/control sliders are assignable to most modulation parameters. Onboard multi-effects based on the QuadraVerb 2 include reverb, chorus, distortion, EQ, delay, rotary speaker simulation and more. These are on four independent busses so it's like having four FX units!

Powerful MIDI implementation suits the QS6.1 for any studio situation. But it has more! It can connect to your Mac or PC using its RS422 or RS232 ports. The QS6.1 comes with a CD-rom (Mac/PC) with Alesis' Sound Bridge and FreeLoader applications, plus programs for sequencing, editor/librarians, notation, extra samples, programs and mixes, sample sequences, demos and more. Either way you choose to use the QS6.1 it is a truly professional yet affordable versatile and compact synth capable of just about anything you can dream up. For more robust studio applications and demanding players, the QS7.1 (76-key) and QS8.1 (88-key) models were also released in 1999.

Alesis QS-6.2 Image

Alesis QS6.2

The QS6.2 is virtually identical to the QS6.1 except that it has only one expansion slot to the 6.1's two and it has a bright shiny new silver design. The ROM Soundsets may also be a slightly newer version too.

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Demos & Media

Audio Clip 1 Onboard demo of the QS6.1 and its cool sounds.
ManualAlesis have made manuals and program charts for many of their products available on-line, for free download as .PDF files.

Specifications

Polyphony - 64 Voices (with dynamic voice allocation)
Oscillators - QS Composite Synthesis (16 Bit Linear 48kHz Sample ROM): 16 MB, expandable to 32 MB via PCMCIA Expansion Card Slots
LFO - 3 LFO's
Filter - 64: 1 Sweepable Lowpass Filter per voice
Effects - QuadraSynth 2 four-Bus Parallel Matrix Effects: reverb, chorus, distortion, EQ, delay, rotary speaker simulation and more.
Keyboard - 61 semi-weighted keys (velocity, release velocity, aftertouch sensitivity)
Memory - Programs: 512 preset, 128 user; Mix Mode: 400 preset, 100 user.
Expandable using QCards or RAM Cards via 2 PCMCIA expansion card slots
Control - MIDI IN OUT/THRU (64 Part multitimbral across 16 MIDI channels); RS422 and RS232 serial protocols, Mac and PC compatible
Date Produced - 1999

Resources

Images from Alesis.